De Midian
Landscape: Full Ecology (Temperate Forests, Hills, Mountains, Plains). De Midian is a domain of breathtaking wilderness and natural beauty, covered with a constant pall of twilight by the De Midian Shadow. The MacGregor Mountain Range surrounds the region, giving solid overlooks of the region. Their altitude frequently means cold temperatures, especially in the areas that border Raxis. Streams and rivers run down from the mountains, teeming with freshwater fish and shellfish. To the east, where the mountains descend into more gentle slopes, is large areas of grassland. Mirror Lake huddles close to the southern reaches of Mount MacGregor, the area well-known by locals and tourists alike. De Midian Military patrols roam the region to keep monster populations down, helping to keep trade moving and ensure that Civilians have little to worry about. West of the Mountains, closer to Miranda's territory, the landscape is more savage. The peaks slope downwards towards rocky badlands, which are riddled with twisting caverns. As the barrens descend, in turn, into the woods, monster presence becomes much more of an issue, making even veterans of the area a little edgy. Overall, the climate in De Midian is temperate and cool, though winters can be exceptionally harsh. Curiously, in spite of the shadow, the plants in De Midian seem wholly able to grow normally. Major Settlements: Necropolis, Forlorn, Tourane, Aruk The Folk: Population: Estmated to be about 611,000. Humans 51%, Undead 41%, Other 8%. Primary Exports: Barley, Wheat, Hops, Sheep, Cattle, Freshwater Seafood, Timber, Metal Ores, Chalk, Clay, Technology. Coinage: Crown (PP), Skull (GP), Bone (SP), Chip (CP). Characters: Erris Scellanta, Stram Armarant, Rachell Armarant, Princess Liliath Anagazzer The Law: Representative Parliament. De Midian comprises a large number of smaller kingdoms and city-states which have coalesced into a larger, more cohesive government. Each component province in De Midian appoints a councilmember which meets as part of the De Midian Council in order to pass laws and resolve disputes. Councilmembers are decided by a vote in each province every 3 years. As of this moment, 7 of the councilmembers are living, with 6 being undead. History: De Midian has a complicated past. A tiny country that was absorbed by Miranda during the Succession War, it simply ceased to exist for the better part of 4 centuries, carrying on as part of the Kingdom of Miranda. When Queen Brooke Canciaris arose to the throne and rebuilt Miranda's capital, she immediately made overtures to make peace between the country and her own, giving back to De Midian roughly 94% of the territory it had acquired during the Succession War in exchange for De Midian joining the Central Fontraile Alliance - an agreement De Midian readily jumped at. Trade relations between De Midian and the other countries of Fontraile opened quickly, and the small country enjoyed considerable protection from having three powerful neighbors - the Kingdom of Miranda to the west, the Kingdom of Raxis to the North, and the Kingdom of Hevaraz to the East. Anxious to tap into the vast natural resources of the region, De Midian began looking into much of its terrain. Considerable reserves of copper, iron, and coal were discovered in short order. One major resource that the De Midian government immediately looked into was the unusual ruins found all throughout its territory. Matching no known culture but clearly proving exceptionally ancient, De Midian had numerous archaeologists and would-be fortune-hunters investigate these ruins, bringing anything of value they could find to the De Midian government. On one such expedition, however, disaster struck. Archaelogists uncovered a magical artifact, and, activating some unknown security feature of the artifact, caused it to explode with catastrophic force. The artifact, upon detonation, emitted a massive pulse of negative energy, instantly slaying anyone unfortunate enough to be caught in the blast radius - which was roughly 57 miles in size - more than sufficient to sweep past the entire capital, and several outlying cities. Those slain by the pulse immediately arose as undead - but curiously, the overpowering majority of the undead who arose in this fashion maintained their mental faculties, memories, and personalities. Considerable confusion occured as De Midian was quickly plunged into complete pandemonium by the panic, unsure of what to make of this - many of the newly-formed undead had to deal with the all-too-real costs of //being// undead, including the hunger for blood, flesh, and life so common to their kind. Far worse, however, was the after-effects of the pulse itself - the artifact had shattered, forming into several smaller stones which had the ability to generate a field of perpetual darkness over the heart of the region. Far worse, however, was the side-effect of the Pulse. The sheer strength of the burst of energy was so strong as to act like a beacon for virtually every feral undead creature on Fontraile. Quickly, the living and undead denizens of De Midian alike found themselves besieged from all sides by feral undead, forcing the De Midian people - both alive and dead - to unite to survive. When support from the CFA arrived and helped deal with the incursions, De Midian was in the unusual position of having to figure out how to deal with nearly half its populace being free-willed, sentient undead. Working with the CFA, De Midian began to find ways to enable its undead citizens to continue to live amongst them without endangering the living. Huge numbers of livestock were raised for this purpose, with large numbers of plants being engineered by Sigilian farmers specifically to provide the undead living in De Midian who normally would need to feed upon the living. With help from the CFA, De Midian quickly stabilized and in spite of the unusual nature of its citizenry, became a valued member of the Central Fontraile Alliance. The Council of De Midian was revised in order to better meet the needs of its citizenry. Laws on the books ensure that all new undead in De Midian must secure a means of feeding and file it with the provincial government ASAP or face harsh punishment, in recognition of its need to protect its citizenry (especially the living ones). Military: The military of De Midian is exceedingly formidable, as it is filled with both the living and the dead. De Midian is known for a seemingly-bizarre mix of rapid-strike units with heavy-duty units capable of absorbing considerable abuse - a mix which has served to cause considerable trouble for the rare enemies trying to take on De Midian on its own terms. Specializing in rapid, continuous assault, De Midian uses its heavy units to draw fire and wear down defenders whilst specialists move in to cut off key objectives, slowly cutting the foe down bit by bit, until the enemy force strains and collapses. Recruitment in De Midian is conscription for active duty service at the age of 18, though training begins as early as secondary schooling. Soldiers stay in active duty for 3 years, afterwards they can either join the military as a career or return home as a reservist. Citizens can be called back into active duty in emergency situations by the High Council. Military service is considered an honor in De Midian society and being a career soldier can be fairly lucrative. The De Midian council even has 5 generals of it's 13 members. Magically-strong individuals with the ability to successfully channel necromantic spells are immediately recommended as candidates for the Academia Necronomica - De Midian's foremost mage academy - even those without the skill or power needed to be battle mages are often employed throughout De Midian. In addition to providing offensive magic and support in the form of summoned and created low-level undead, De Midian Necromancers act as medics of a sort for the undead troops; their magic has a restorative effect on the dead. Of particular note is De Midian's frequent use of incorporeal and burrowing undead - Wraiths and Wights - in its fast attack units. Phasing through solid terrain or digging through the ground, these units are capable of striking deep behind enemy lines and eliminating command staff and securing critical objectives. Paramisian Commanders during the Mirandian War frequently assumed they were safe within fortifications, only to find themselves assaulted in their very bunkers by De Midian troops bursting up from below or striking from within the walls. Living troops are highly important in the De Midian Military - not only can the Necromancy taught by the Academy generally only be used by the living and certain very powerful undead, but the living also are able to make full use of any equipment De Midian manufatures - the bulk of De Midian's undead have notably more-limited abilities either due to physiological issues (Wights, for example have twisted talons for fingers, which makes it rather hard to shoot most firearms, and Ghosts, being incorporeal, can only physically interact with equipment if they manifest, which means they can't generally take weaponry with them when phasing through walls). Additionally, the living obviously are not harmed by things specifically designed to harm the undead, and perhaps most importantly, they provide tactical skill - undead generally do not have the head for tactical planning that the living do, as a deathless state comes a very long lifespan - which, in turn, means most undead tend to think extremely long-term, making for generally poor strategists - even ones that tend to think in the here and now tend to ignore short-term gains in favor of long-term benefit. Most of the finest generals and officers De Midian has are, in fact, alive.